Biden Announces Lead Ammo/Lure Ban Across Eight National Wildlife Refuges by 2026

Same.

Working on a load with Nosler RDF’s from SPS (on sale for .36/round).

If I can get them close to the same speed as my 199 HH load then I’ll burn those as practice all summer, then hunt the 199’s.
I hate switching back and forth is the only reason I shoot with my hunting loads
 
I’m ab
Same.

Working on a load with Nosler RDF’s from SPS (on sale for .36/round).

If I can get them close to the same speed as my 199 HH load then I’ll burn those as practice all summer, then hunt the 199’s.
I’m able to get pretty similar speeds with Hornady 168 BTHP for practice. $37/100 at the local sporting goods store.
 
Accubonds and ballistic tips. Mostly ballistic tips. Would still probably be shooting them if they were readily available like they use to be
 
I was thinking about all the lead fishing weights in popular rivers here in AK. A quick estimate, is 15-17 tons of lead weights are lost in the Kenai river every year, probably more. I'm switching to non-toxic weights. I lose around an oz every trip I go. It adds up. I see people slinging huge pieces of lead and I know they lose. There is over 275,000 angler days on that river. Times x years? That's a a lot of lead in a river. I filled half a white trash bag of garbage from a 50 yard stretch of river a couple nights ago. The season just started too, people are assholes. So much trash.

IMO the bullet thing is a nothing sandwich. It won't have a measurable impact. How many lead bullets are shot per year per hunter, per refuge. We're talking a few dozen pounds total per year, lost, maybe.
 
I was thinking about all the lead fishing weights in popular rivers here in AK. A quick estimate, is 15-17 tons of lead weights are lost in the Kenai river every year, probably more. I'm switching to non-toxic weights. I lose around an oz every trip I go. It adds up. I see people slinging huge pieces of lead and I know they lose. There is over 275,000 angler days on that river. Times x years? That's a a lot of lead in a river. I filled half a white trash bag of garbage from a 50 yard stretch of river a couple nights ago. The season just started too, people are assholes. So much trash.

IMO the bullet thing is a nothing sandwich. It won't have a measurable impact. How many lead bullets are shot per year per hunter, per refuge. We're talking a few dozen pounds total per year, lost, maybe.
I don't see the lead in fishing thing at all. But the line - the amount of plastic line out there is boggling. I don't know what's effect is on wildlife demographics, but I sure find it being a problem far more often than lead sinkers.
 
https://backcountryhunting.libsyn.com/how-bullets-kill-monometal-vs-lead-core

One of my favorite podcasters to listen to while driving. I’ll try to regurgitate the best that I can from my understanding of the topic. It seems that lead bullets create more hydrostatic shock with a larger temporary wound channel, but do not have as deep penetration. Mono metals have the opposite; a smaller wound channel, but deep penetration. They also talked about animal position and shot placement. I’ve chosen mono metal bullets just because I want to be able to take any shot angle presented and know that I’ll reach the vitals and most likely create an exit hole. That’s at least the theory behind my choice. The only experience that I have is a 308 Barnes TTSX that passed completely through a javelina. They’re not thick skinned animals though and I’m sure a lead-core would have done the same.


I’m not for a lead ban, but I do believe that we should learn about our projectile of choice and know it’s limitations.
 
I don't see the lead in fishing thing at all. But the line - the amount of plastic line out there is boggling. I don't know what's effect is on wildlife demographics, but I sure find it being a problem far more often than lead sinkers.

I used to think the same thing, and in most places I suspect you are correct. I have changed my mind on the impact of lead fishing tackle in locations where fishing pressure is extreme or where snagging is legal.

I had heard about snagging for Kokanee in a handful of waters in western Montana, but was not particularly interested in giving it a try mainly since it occurs during the fall hunting season and I had other priorities. Three falls ago I was talked into heading up to a waterfall on a river near me that has a good run of fairly large kokanee. The river below the falls is fast and full of large boulders.

On my first trip there I could see tons of orange flagging caught amongst the rocks and all over the bottom of the river. Most people snagging here would tie flagging tape to their snagging hooks so that they can see their hooks in the water.

I decided to come back up a few days later with my wetsuit and snorkeling gear and see if I could retrieve some of the hooks. In my first 20 minute swim, I retrieved what is on the rocks in the first pic below.
IMG_5288.jpg

Over the past few Octobers I have been back up and made 5-6 20-30 minute dives. I can't stay in much longer than that as the water is very cold that time of year. So far I have recovered over 1000 snagging hooks and many dozens of other lures and tackle. The area I am swimming in is probably 20 by 40 yards as that is the only area I feel safe swimming in the fast current and there are more small waterfalls just below.

Im really only getting a small fraction of the tackle as there are pockets between the boulders filled with hundreds of hooks and line. I don't feel safe diving down and shoving my arm into those spots with the potential for getting myself snagged and trapped underwater. I can also see tons of more further out in the river where I won't go. It can be a bit gross as there are also lots of dead and rotting kokanee and rainbow trout caught up in the hooks and line steaming from them all over the river. I can also fill up a garbage bag each time from the trash I find on the banks as well.

Two dives worth from October 2021
IMG_7265.jpg

IMG_7286.jpg

From two swims last fall:
IMG_0416.jpg


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I've also wandered around in some very popular salmon fishing spots in Alaska during low water. It wasn't quite as bad as my Montana spot, but there was still a ton of lead tackle in the water.

Oh...anyone in the market for some snagging hooks?
 
I have also seen first hand the impact lead ammunition has on eagles. Over the years I have caught two bald eagles that were suffering from lead poisoning just after the rifle season ended. One was on a log out in a bay and when it saw my dog and me walking the bank 50 yards away, it jumped into the water and very ungracefully swam/floundered to the bank across from me. Once it got to shore it was obviously struggling walking as its talons were fully clenched. I was easily able to walk up to it and throw my carhartt jacket over it and bundle it up. I called FWP and was forwarded to a raptor recovery center a couple hours away. They came and got the eagle and a few weeks later after chelation therapy they brought it back up to where I caught it and released it back into the wild.

The second eagle i found on the side of a forest service road next to a carcass. It was in a similar condition and also made a full recovery after getting treatment for lead poisoning.

DSC00080.jpg


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I do not understand how anyone can be ok with this? This is about more than just hunting. It is about the government doing all they can to regulate and limit our 2nd Amendment.

How can anyone still support the side that is constantly trying to remove our most basic of rights…
 

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